No wonder we are anxious that nothing should happen to make him change his mind. ” True summer descended like a sticky fever upon August’s arrival, bringing with it miasmas of humidity that seemed to hang from the trees like mucus. The door was fastened by a catch and a latch with an inside key, to which at night a chain and two bolts were added. I can remove the prisoner at any hour of the night I think fit: and I will remove him. ‘Gérard!’ ‘Yes, it’s I,’ he said, and grinned. Gin is the poor man's friend,—his sole set-off against the rich man's luxury. The doleful procession at once assumed a festive character.